Darkly Dreaming Dexter | Page 4

ight y m usic i n m y ve ins , a nd t he care ful watc he r laughi ng
qui
etl y i n the rus h of t he ni ght 's ha rd pul se . “
T urn he re,” I s aid a t l ast. T
he pri est's e ye s fl ew to m ine in t he m irror. T he pa nic w as t ryi ng t o cla w out of hi s e ye s, dow n his
fa
ce, i nt o hi s m out h to s peak, but — “
T urn!” I said, a nd he turne d. Slum ped l ike he ha d be en e xpe cting t his a ll a long, w aiting for i t
fore
ver, a nd he turne d. T
he sm all di rt roa d was ba rely vi sibl e. Y ou a lm os t ha d to know it w as t he re. But I kne w. I ha d been
t
he re be fore . The roa d ra n for t wo a nd a half m il e s, t wis ting t hree t im es, t hrough t he saw gra ss,
t
hrough t he tre es, a longs ide a sm all c ana l, de ep i nto t he sw am p a nd i nto a cle a ri ng. F
ift y ye ars ago s omebody ha d built a hous e. M ost of i t w as s till t he re. It was l arge for w hat i t w as.
T
hre e room s, ha lf a roof s til l l eft , t he pl ace c om plete ly a bandone d now for many ye ars . E
xc ept the ol d ve geta bl e ga rde n out in t he side ya rd. T here w ere signs tha t s om ebody ha d been
di
ggi ng t here fa irl y re cent ly. “
S top t he car,” I s aid a s t he he adl ight s pi cke d up t he crum bling hous e. F
athe r D onova n lurc hed t o obe y. Fear ha d seale d hi m int o hi s body now , his l im bs and t hought s a ll
ri
gi d. “
T urn off t he m otor,” I told hi m, a nd he did. It
w as s udde nly ve ry qui et. S
om e s m all s om ethi ng c hitt e re d i n a tre e. T he w ind ra ttle d t he gra ss . A nd t hen m ore qui et, s ile nc e
s
o de ep i t a lm os t drow ned out the roa r of t he ni ght music t ha t pounde d away i n m y secre t s elf. “
G et out ,” I s aid. F
athe r D onova n did not move . His e ye s w ere on t he ve geta bl e ga rde n. S
eve n s mall m ounds of eart h w ere vi sibl e t he re. T he he ape d s oil l ooke d very da rk in the m oonl ight .
It
m ust ha ve looke d even da rker to F athe r D onova n. And still he did not move . I ya
nked ha rd on t he noos e, ha rder tha n he thought he coul d live through, ha rder tha n he knew
c
oul d ha ppen to hi m. H is ba ck a rche d a gains t t he seat a nd t he ve ins stood out on his fore head a nd
he
thought he was a bout to di e.

But
he was not . Not ye t. N ot for qui te s om e t im e, i n fa ct. I ki
cke d t he car door ope n and pul le d